A man has failed in his bid to prevent a 50MW solar farm securing planning permission on farmlands outside Kilkenny city.
An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission to Irish solar energy company Elgin Energy Services Ltd for the solar farm on a 277-acre site 3km northeast of Kilkenny city centre.
John Callaghan’s self styled NGO, Sustainability 2050, was the only party to lodge an appeal against the Kilkenny Co Council grant of permission and his intervention by lodging an appeal last September delayed the project’s planning go-ahead by almost one year.
Mr Callaghan didn’t respond to a request for comment on Thursday on the appeals board decision.
In his appeal, Mr Callaghan, with a Kells, Co Meath address, contended that the development of a grain farm to a solar PV and sheep farm is not compatible with Irish agricultural policy as it converts land from protein production to a very limited use for sheep production.
In response to Mr Callaghan’s Sustainability 2050 appeal, the applicants told An Bord Pleanála that a 10-year planning permission for the solar farm is dependent on a grid connection from EirGrid, with the time frame for this connection being currently unspecified.
Elgin told the board that it was seeking a 40-year operational lifetime for the development in order to provide low-cost green energy to homes, businesses and farms in the region.
Elgin also told the appeals board that the project aims to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, with an estimated carbon dioxide saving of 13,950 tonnes per year.
The applicants acknowledged that the development will have an impact on agricultural productivity specific to arable crop growing during its operational phase.
The inspector in the case, Tomás Bradley, dismissed Mr Callaghan’s concerns over the loss of arable land.
Mr Bradley said: “The landowners are entitled to diversify their incomes and work the land in the most resourceful way possible to them subject to relevant consents and licences. The displacement of food production, namely tillage and proteins were it viable, will be negligible in the national context.”
The board granted planning permission after concluding that the proposed development would not seriously injure the visual amenities of the area, would not have a significant adverse impact on ecology and would make a positive contribution to Ireland’s renewable energy and security of energy supply requirements.
